Central Coast winery, HammerSky Vineyards, has won some awards in the past few years, and will be introducing a second, lower-priced line of wines. The winery is owned by Newport Beach dentist Douglas Hauck and his wife, Kim.

Central Coast winery, HammerSky Vineyards, has won some awards in the past few years, and will be introducing a second, lower-priced line of wines. The winery is owned by Newport Beach dentist Douglas Hauck and his wife, Kim.

Douglas Hauck, left, is a Newport Beach dentist. He also happens to own HammerSky Vineyards, a Central Coast winery, with his wife, Kim. They are seen at a recent tasting event in Newport Beach.

Central Coast winery, HammerSky Vineyards, has won some awards in the past few years, and will be introducing a second, lower-priced line of wines. The winery is owned by Newport Beach dentist Douglas Hauck and his wife, Kim.

Douglas Hauck is a Newport Beach dentist with a booming practice on Coast Highway. With his Hollywood background – he used to produce films, among other nonmedical professions – Hauck sometimes says of a celebrity, “I did his smile!”

But creating the perfect smile isn’t Hauck’s ultimate dream. He wants to be a full-time winemaker – not just a weekend grape smasher but a producer of Bordeaux blends that rival the best of Napa and France.

With each harvest, Hauck believes he’s getting closer to that goal. His winery in Paso Robles, HammerSky Vineyards, has won some awards in the past few years, and he’s introducing a second, lower-priced line that will push him past the financial line he has set for himself.

“When the two incomes” (from the dental practice and the winery) “equal each other – that’s the magic point. I can see it; it’s just a sniff away,” Hauck said last week during a tasting event in Newport Beach that introduced some of his 2009 lineup and gave us a glimpse of HammerSky’s 2010 vintage with some barrel tastings.

Hauck and his wife, Kim, dreamed of owning a vineyard for years. A place near Santa Barbara was their original goal, but the 2004 film “Sideways” created what Hauck calls “the ‘Sideways’ premium” on that part of the coast. Their search took them farther north; they settled on a picturesque, 50-acre site on the west side of the valley on Vineyard Drive, the same area where you’ll find premium labels such as Tablas Creek and Justin.

Kim tastefully redecorated and added to the property. The original white clapboard farmhouse, built for a Mennonite minister and his family more than a century ago, looks like something from a historic photo on the outside, but is up-to-date and 21st-century stylish on the inside. The large barn appears older than the house, even though it was added by the Haucks only a few years ago. The tasting room, to the right of the driveway, is unobtrusive, less than 1,000 square feet, and finished in a sleek modernist style that somehow complements the farm house and barn.

It can be chilly out there – the Templeton Gap brings a sea breeze from Cambria every afternoon in the hot months. That unusual climate is why Hauck has gotten interested in Bordeaux varietals, which favor cooler weather. The Haucks farm 25 acres of estate vines at HammerSky Vineyards, which they named for their sons, Hamilton and Skyler. Planted in 1997, the vines grow in soil similar to France’s Bordeaux region.

At the tasting, I managed to corner Hauck briefly as he bounced around the patio, pouring a variety of whites and reds (the viognier and a refreshing rose of merlot were perfect antidotes to the hot afternoon). I asked him where he wanted his 2,500-case-per-year operation to be in five years.

“Still fairly small and authentic,” Hauck said. “I’d like to produce about 4,000 (cases annually) in my private estate label, perhaps up to 20,000 cases a year for my second, lower-priced label.”

HammerSky’s wines can be pricey, up to $50 and more per bottle, but the second line, which Hauck has named Naughty Princess, is designed for more budget-conscious wine fans.

Why “Naughty Princess”? “I think people like a name that has that balance between good and bad,” Hauck said.

He believes he knows the Central Coast well enough now to source and blend quality grapes from trusted vineyards for his lower-priced wines. “The secret to being successful on a larger scale is knowing how to source good grapes and how to blend,” Hauck said. “I’m there now.”

Hauck enjoys a challenge. One of his long-term goals is figuring out a way to bring the next wine generation into his fold.

“What will the Red Bull crowd want to drink as they mature? That’s an interesting question. I’m not a purist. Beyond being pure to the varietal, I believe you shouldn’t be afraid to try just about anything in the pursuit of making interesting wine.”

Performing arts writer Paul Hodgins has worked at The Orange County Register since 1993. He spent more than two decades as the Register’s theater critic, and for eight years he covered dance as well. In the Food section, he writes a column about wine, beer and spirits, and he occasionally reports on architecture, style and design for Coast and OC Home. Hodgins has also written for American Theatre, Backstage West, The SOMM Journal, The Sondheim Review, The Tasting Panel, Variety and the San Diego Union-Tribune. Hodgins was a performing arts professor at the University of California, Irvine and held similar positions at Eastern Michigan University and Simon Fraser University. He has taught journalism at California State University Fullerton since 2001. Hodgins earned a doctorate in music from the University of Southern California. He lives in Huntington Beach.

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